The Avengers
4.17: Small Game for Big Hunters
I wonder if Death at
Bargain Prices’ camping scene, suggestive of an exotic clime but based in a
department store, was an inspiration for Small
Game For Big Hunters’ more protracted excursion to the African country of
Kalaya… in Hertfordshire. Gerry O’Hara, in his second of two episodes for the
show again delivers on the atmosphere, making the most of Philip Levene’s
teleplay.
Steed: Had a spot of bother with the natives. A full-blown
savage, with a very unfriendly disposition.
Mrs Peel: Oh, come now, Steed.
It’s also an episode big on the colonial critique, not to
mention innocently dipping into the conspiratorial waters of spreading diseases
(and testing vaccines) in third world countries. The teaser is a particular
good one, as a man (Peter Thomas), pursued through thick jungle, ends up with
an arrow in his back, collapsing near a sign that reads “London 23 Miles”.
Mrs Peel investigates signs of a Kalayan tribal influence
(the Shirenzai symbol, “a more dread form
of voodoo”) while Steed gets personal, calling on Colonel Rawlings (Bill
Fraser, General Grugger in Meglos),
who lives inside a biodome-equivalent jungle.
Promoting suggestions of the supernatural is Professor Swain
(Liam Redmond), whose misdirections (“He
sleeps the sleep of the living dead. There’s no awakening him. Not by any means
I have at my command”) mask his own dastardly doings, since he’s the
ringleader of a plot to take back control of Kalaya by introducing tse tse
flies carrying a strain of sleeping sickness that will render the whole country
paralysed within a week.
Steed: He’s got a nice line in au pairs.
Trent: He’s got a whole tribe of them out there.
Swain’s supported by game hunter Simon Trent (James
Villiers), given to making threatening allusions (“This time of day, if I see something moving, it’s all I can do to stop
myself from shooting it”) and detaining Steed at the residence on account
of the hazardous rivers during monsoon season.
Indulging the delusions of an
eccentric becomes an increasingly common trope of the series, one we previously
saw with Sir Horace Winslip in The
Gravediggers. Colonel Rawlings is a Blimpish type withdrawn into his own
oblivious world (“He couldn’t survive the
winds of change, softened his brain. He still thinks he’s there”) while his
assistants get up to no good under his nose.
Trent: Tomorrow we fly back to Kalaya, Steed. We’re
going back. Back. And we’re taking this with us. Thousands of the little
beasties, that’s all we need. And once they’re release in a climate like that…
Steed: They breed like flies?
Trent: Yes, like flies. They breed like flies.
Swain: The whole country will be paralysed in a
week, and then we take over. A pretty plan, don’t you think?
Indeed, during the finale, while an alluring Emma arrives
impersonating Lala (Esther Anderson) with a flower in her hair, the Colonel
wanders around making irrelevant comments about a notional uprising (“Take them some coloured beads. Always seems
to help”; “By Jove, the natives are
restless tonight, A firm hand, that’s what’s needed. A firm hand”).
Not that the rest of it is exactly played straight, with Steed
swinging in on a vine to Emma’s rescue (“Me
Steed”; “Me Emma”) and putting
paid to Trent after confidently telling him, in 007 fashion, “Mauser, single barrel. You’ve had your five”.
Subsequently grappling with him, a further shot goes off (“My arithmetic is shocking!”) Villiers makes for a low key but
effective villain, Redmond less so, meaning that some of his nefarious lines
fall a bit flat (“All that work almost
spoiled because of you. That arouses me to violence”).
Notable in the episode are two persons of colour, the
aforementioned Anderson and Paul Danquah as Razafi, Kalayan Secret Service. The
former has little in the way of dialogue, but the latter makes a strong
impression when he reveals his undercover status to Steed. I hadn’t realised
the series’ predominant absence of ethnic actors was intentional (“Clemens explains that the success of ‘THE
AVENGERS’ is due to its element of fantasy. And all the taboos come under the
heading of social realities…”) It’s a thin argument, particularly since it
is broken on several occasions (more recently, Brian True-May tried out a similar
line with Midsommer Murders).
Steed: I once shot a bull elephant myself.
Outfitter: Really? What did you use?
Steed: F8 at 500ths of a second, and a small roll
of film.
Amusing interludes include Steed calling on Tropic
Outfitters early on, precise in their knowledge (“My goodness, sir. This is a relic. One of our old mid-tropical five-button
broad weaves”) and up with the sales patter (“No matter where you are, steaming jungle, burning bush or arid desert,
we always get your order through”).
Mrs Peel: What’s missing?
Steed: Colonel Rawling’s file. Fortunately, he
overlooked my cucumber sandwiches.
Mrs Peel: Oh, very good.
So too, after his altercation with a Kalayan native, Steed
is sanguine about the damage done (above). There are some nice edits, notably
Emma awaking from leafing through a book on tribal rituals and seeing a “real” tribesman.
Steed plays what looks like an intense game of cards with the Colonel, only for
it to be revealed as Snap! The
laugh-off is merely so-so, however (Steed and Emma in a rowing boat, she
telling him to start the other engine, he beginning to paddle in response).
Agree? Disagree? Mildly or vehemently? Let me know in the comments below.